Capas, Tarlac – – Because of shabu, husband and wife are in jail.
This came when a “peace officer” municipal employee of this town was arrested in a buy bust operation by police operatives at Barangay Sto. Domingo 2nd and his firewoman wife was also jailed for “obstruction of justice” last night.
In the report of PSupt Luis Ventura Jr, arrested for selling shabu was James Daniel Dancel, 29, an employee with the Municipal Public Order and Safety Management Office (POSMO).
The POSMO is a “special law enforcement office directly under the office of Mayor Reynaldo Catacutan”. Members of the POSMO are considered “peace officers” as they are empowered to arrest violators of law.
In another report to Tarlac Police Provincial Office (TPPO) Director PSSupt Ritchie Posadas, Ventura also disclosed the arrest of Fire Officer 1 Raquel Bustamante, 32, wife of Dancel who is assigned at the Zaragoza Fire Station in Zaragoza, Nueva Ecija.
“From the record of my new office, Dancel’s name is with the Watchlist of Drug Personalities for more than a year, a High Value Target (HVT). He is very active in selling drugs even before the new mayor took over July last year”, said Ventura who assumed as chief of the TPPO Intelligence Branch barely 2 weeks ago.
PSupt Ariel Red is the police chief of this town from August 2016 until his re-assignment this month as commander of the Tarlac Provincial Public Safety Company (PPSC).
Ventura also disclosed that “when Dancel was being submitted to a drug test at the Provincial Crime Laboratory office, his wife Bustamanto arrived and forcefully tried to prevent him (Dancel) from discharging urine for the lab test”.
“She was in BFP uniform but was very unruly at the crime lab. She even shouted threatening words to the arresting officers of Dancel, that’s why we have no option but to jail her”, Ventura said.
Two other plastic sachets of shabu were recovered from Dancel after he sold another plastic sachet of the illegal drug to policeman poseur buyer PO3 Daniel Ann Sinlao.
Sought for comment, Posadas said, “the string of accomplishments of Ventura in our war against drugs is very commendable. The arrest of Dancel is the 6th HVT apprehended by Ventura”.
Earlier, Ventura arrested 2 barangay kagawads and 6 municipal employees all in Concepcion town.
Cases of violation of Section 5 and 11 are being prepared against Dancel, while FO1 Bustamanto will be charged of Obstruction of Apprehension and Prosecution of Criminal Offenders and for the crime of Resistance and Disobedience to a Person in Authority or the Agents.
The two are now detained at the Camp Macabulos detention facility./ Nelson Bolos